Speaker 1: Episode how to Budget without Deprivation. Welcome to the Frugal
Speaker 1: Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity, rights,
Speaker 1: and liver with your life. Here your host Jen and
Speaker 1: Jill O. Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast. My name
Speaker 1: is Jen, my name is Jill, and we are talking
Speaker 1: about budgeting today, which is one of y'all's favorite topics
Speaker 1: and we're we just put a fresh spin on it
Speaker 1: all the time, how to do it without feeling deprived.
Speaker 1: So many people feel deprived with a budget and we're
Speaker 1: just trying to flip that script. Yes, so this will
Speaker 1: be a little unique from our values based budgeting episode.
Speaker 1: That is a great way, and we will talk about
Speaker 1: values core values, but we will talk mostly about just
Speaker 1: you'll you'll understand when we get into these articles. There's
Speaker 1: some really good articles today. But first, our sponsors our
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Speaker 1: Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash free to get yours again.
Speaker 1: It's free. Yes. Today's episode also brought to you by Coffee.
Speaker 1: I jen I'm a basic B and you better believe that.
Speaker 1: As a basic B I love to work out of
Speaker 1: coffee shops that play basic B music and I get
Speaker 1: my basic b ice latte lightly swedened with vanilla. This
Speaker 1: experience brings me joy and I can name many things
Speaker 1: I do not spend money on so that I can
Speaker 1: spend more money on coffee. Does that make me basic? Maybe?
Speaker 1: But you know what, it does not make me living
Speaker 1: somebody else's subpart expectations for how I should live my life. Coffee,
Speaker 1: get your law taboo. Oh this is This is called
Speaker 1: the amount of times do you say basic being? Throughout
Speaker 1: this sponsor I tried to say it as many times
Speaker 1: as possible gratuitously. I'm not sure if Coffee sponsored this
Speaker 1: or if Basic bas sponsored that's but hey, I support
Speaker 1: you in the ways that make you basic and the
Speaker 1: ways that make you unique. I think they have the
Speaker 1: same parent company, so similar, different llc s, maybe coffee
Speaker 1: partners a lot with basic bes. So it's fine, Yeah,
Speaker 1: so true, so true. All right, well you get the picture.
Speaker 1: There should be no reason that you, I mean, you
Speaker 1: should have a budget that makes you feel deprived, because
Speaker 1: it is not a sustainable way to budget. We've said
Speaker 1: it over and over and over, and mainly that's because
Speaker 1: we so often, especially when we're getting started with budgeting,
Speaker 1: try to make a budget that aligns with somebody else's
Speaker 1: vision for what our life should be like, or somebody
Speaker 1: that has done this before and has made it work,
Speaker 1: and we try to do what they did and recreate it.
Speaker 1: But you are nobody's second best. You are the only you,
Speaker 1: and you deserve a budget that helps you reach your
Speaker 1: financial goals and live your best life. And so we
Speaker 1: believe that's possible. Yeah, budgets do not have to be restrictive.
Speaker 1: They do not have to feel like deprivation. I think
Speaker 1: a lot of times where people feel restricted or deprived
Speaker 1: has more to do with actual spending and earning than
Speaker 1: it does with the tool of a budget. Maybe the
Speaker 1: budget is just highlighting a pain point, which even still
Speaker 1: it's a useful tool because then it can help us
Speaker 1: identify what areas we can work on so that ultimately
Speaker 1: we don't feel deprived. Absolutely, So let's get into this
Speaker 1: first article from life Skills that Matter dot com, and
Speaker 1: it is how to create a budget without depriving yourself.
Speaker 1: Very straightforward. I think we could have written this article.
Speaker 1: I think if I was going to write it, I
Speaker 1: couldn't have written it better. Can I tell you? I
Speaker 1: actually looked as I was reading through it, I'm like, wait,
Speaker 1: did Jen right this? Like I loved to see that
Speaker 1: the author was and if it was like a publication
Speaker 1: that you've contributed to. Oh, hey, this is our article today.
Speaker 1: Look it's me. I wrote it. It's happened. I do
Speaker 1: that sometimes, yes, but I did not do it on
Speaker 1: this one. And it is such a great article. So
Speaker 1: so tell us what you thought of it, Jen, this
Speaker 1: article that you could have written. Right. So he goes
Speaker 1: through the two there are two different methods of budgeting,
Speaker 1: and so the first one, and he started off budgets
Speaker 1: are like diets. People go on them with the best
Speaker 1: of intentions, but rarely stick to them. Yes, we are
Speaker 1: so often yo yo diet with money, but people view
Speaker 1: budgets as temporary financial punishments. Like that's such an important phrase,
Speaker 1: and it's so true. We do we view them as temporary,
Speaker 1: like I won't have to be on a budget forever
Speaker 1: if I just do it to get out of my funk.
Speaker 1: Financial We only look at the numbers and how they
Speaker 1: relate to our our income and outflow. We don't think
Speaker 1: about as a budget as a way to incorporate more
Speaker 1: life giving things and then punishments, like we are living
Speaker 1: on a budget because we made financial mistakes in the
Speaker 1: past and now we're trying to get out of them.
Speaker 1: And so that's I mean. Budgets are not temporary. They
Speaker 1: are a long term They are not just financial. They
Speaker 1: make sure that you can live a whole life because
Speaker 1: we are whole people. And they're not punishments. They avoid
Speaker 1: the real punishments, which can be bankruptcy, can be like
Speaker 1: shame of living in debt. Like they're the things that
Speaker 1: the tools that we use to avoid those real punishments.
Speaker 1: It's like the most misunderstood thing within the finance world.
Speaker 1: We all know about them, but yet we've got such
Speaker 1: the skewed perspective on it. And he even mentions in
Speaker 1: this beginning portion about just nickel and diming yourself to
Speaker 1: save money. And I think we're going to get into
Speaker 1: that when he talks about the different methods of what
Speaker 1: is the cheap method. But we can often think we
Speaker 1: have to nickel and dime and scrimp in every single category,
Speaker 1: and that's what a budget means, and that's just simply
Speaker 1: not true. Yeah, the cheap method, and then he goes
Speaker 1: over the frugal method. And so if you've been listening
Speaker 1: to us for any amount of time, you know what
Speaker 1: we think is cheap. It's the nickel and diming. It's
Speaker 1: the time wasted clipping fifty cent cuponds, chasing sales at stores,
Speaker 1: YadA YadA. So that is kind of the cheap method
Speaker 1: is going with those those things, cutting out things that
Speaker 1: are really low ticket and not thinking so much about
Speaker 1: larger ticket items. So like a lot of people think
Speaker 1: they're you know, my my mortgage is just my mortgage
Speaker 1: and it's a fixed expense. But what if you have
Speaker 1: like a eight thousand square foot home, because you know
Speaker 1: that's what you that's extreme. But what if you have
Speaker 1: like a big home and you realize is like several
Speaker 1: years after buying it, like I actually want to live
Speaker 1: tiny or I don't use all my home I could
Speaker 1: live in twelve hundred square feet. Like you can get
Speaker 1: rid of a mortgage, you are not tied to that forever.
Speaker 1: So it's examining these fixed expenses to and seeing what
Speaker 1: we can get rid of. And that is the frugal method.
Speaker 1: It prioritizes your spending according to your needs and wants.
Speaker 1: So instead of across the board minimal cuts like nickel
Speaker 1: and diming, you're spending reductions are based on your passions, interests,
Speaker 1: basic needs, and overall life priorities. And I guess you
Speaker 1: can all imagine that we would prefer the frugal method.
Speaker 1: And the writer of this article also gives that disclaimer
Speaker 1: that they utilize the frugal method base and it's one
Speaker 1: of their core values is frugality, So they're just speaking
Speaker 1: our language across the board. But they do give us
Speaker 1: some pointers in how we all can go about this
Speaker 1: frugal method of budgeting, and I really like it. There's
Speaker 1: certainly so many ways that we can approach budgeting. Ultimately,
Speaker 1: I love the emphasis on mindset here, but I think
Speaker 1: this is a really attainable, simple process that we could
Speaker 1: go through, so I think it's worth describing this so First,
Speaker 1: they say, make a list of all your recurring fixed
Speaker 1: monthly expenses. These are expenses that are say, the same
Speaker 1: or approximately the same every month throughout the year. So
Speaker 1: this would include your rent or your mortgage, a car payment,
Speaker 1: whether you have student loans, cable bills, phone bills, subscriptions, memberships, utilities, insurances,
Speaker 1: you name it, all of your fixed monthly expenses. To
Speaker 1: write them all down. It is really important to get
Speaker 1: this on paper to have a clear snapshot of what
Speaker 1: are the expenses that I pay monthly that are relatively fixed.
Speaker 1: Now that's not to say that they can't be changed,
Speaker 1: but they don't fluctuate a ton every month. It's about
Speaker 1: x amount of money per month to engage in this thing, absolutely,
Speaker 1: and so number two is to identify which ones you
Speaker 1: can cut immediately from that list. So, unless you're already
Speaker 1: a fairly frugal person, there are always one or two
Speaker 1: monthly expenses you can cut right away. And so these
Speaker 1: are expenses that are doing absolutely nothing to help you
Speaker 1: achieve your goals and are easy to live without. So
Speaker 1: this is where it comes in, like having your three
Speaker 1: three to four core values and having your financial goals
Speaker 1: and making sure that everything on the list of expenses
Speaker 1: that you have aligns with them. And yes, insurances and
Speaker 1: utilities can align with your core values because I mean,
Speaker 1: like for us, community is a big core value and
Speaker 1: I love having people over to my house. It's a
Speaker 1: frugal way to hang out with people versus going to restaurant.
Speaker 1: But I need utilities in order to do that, and
Speaker 1: the utilities are cheaper than living at a restaurant. So yes,
Speaker 1: you can every single expense tie back to your core
Speaker 1: values or your financial goals hopefully both yes. And number
Speaker 1: three is negotiate a reduction for each one of the
Speaker 1: remaining expenses. So we're still just looking at those fixed expenses,
Speaker 1: the ones that are the same every single month. Negotiate.
Speaker 1: First of all, I love this word. I think we
Speaker 1: don't use it enough. You've heard me talk about this before.
Speaker 1: But also I think this article highlights some really important things.
Speaker 1: So they say, first, negotiate with yourself. Ask yourself to
Speaker 1: come up with at least three different ways that you
Speaker 1: could reduce each expense, no matter how dramatic they may seem.
Speaker 1: That doesn't mean that you have to implement on all
Speaker 1: three things, or even any of the things that you list. Out.
Speaker 1: But it is a good exercise to engage in that
Speaker 1: thinking cre activity, creatively problem solving, considering with yourself, where
Speaker 1: could I reduce some of these quote unquote fixed things,
Speaker 1: these things that I thought I have to pay every month.
Speaker 1: I need to be engaging in this expense. We'd be
Speaker 1: surprised when we allow ourselves to think outside the box,
Speaker 1: but also engage with ourselves and what could I do
Speaker 1: here just to save some money? Again, the purpose for
Speaker 1: that is to free up money to be able to
Speaker 1: spend on the things that we value, not just for
Speaker 1: the purpose of cutting expenses, but to put our money
Speaker 1: towards the things that are most valuable to us and
Speaker 1: sometimes are fixed expenses, aren't that so once you've negotiated
Speaker 1: with yourself right, this could include I'm just thinking an
Speaker 1: example of subscriptions. If it's a fixed monthly expense, but
Speaker 1: you realize, actually that subscription doesn't give me that much.
Speaker 1: Here's an alternative that is less money or no money.
Speaker 1: Do that. Consider that and secondly, negotiate with companies to
Speaker 1: ask for lower cost alternatives or threatened to switch to
Speaker 1: a competitor. I know, Jen, you've got a ton of
Speaker 1: resources out there on negotiation. And it's something that I
Speaker 1: think we've even had a podcast episode about. This is
Speaker 1: a surprising technique that I think a lot of us.
Speaker 1: It takes some courage. We don't often practice of negotiating
Speaker 1: for a lower internet rate or phone rate, you name it.
Speaker 1: There's plenty of room for negotiation on some of these
Speaker 1: things that we think this is the amount that I
Speaker 1: have to pay. So love number three negotiation with yourself
Speaker 1: and with these companies, and that could make an incredible
Speaker 1: difference with just those fixed expenses, so that when we
Speaker 1: get to some of those more variable expenses, we've got
Speaker 1: more wiggle room. Absolutely. Yeah, we're actually doing a negotiation
Speaker 1: challenge in Club BFFO. So we love negotiating. I actually
Speaker 1: wanted to touch on the first one, negotiating with yourself,
Speaker 1: no matter how dramatic, ways to reduce your EXPENSI no
Speaker 1: matter how dramatic. And so I was listening to Hello
Speaker 1: Habits by Fumio Sasaki and he gave a story about
Speaker 1: how Pana Sonic once tried to lower its I think
Speaker 1: energy consumption by ten and they were just having a
Speaker 1: horrible time figuring out what to do. And so the
Speaker 1: CEO was like okay, we're actually going to cut it fifty.
Speaker 1: And it was taking it like to the extreme that
Speaker 1: had everybody coming up with creative ideas and what was
Speaker 1: just like, okay, how can we skim off the top,
Speaker 1: like implemented changes that were structural and really like deep
Speaker 1: into the company, changed a lot of practices and so
Speaker 1: sometimes you need to get extreme to land somewhere in
Speaker 1: the middle. So if you're if you're spending is somewhere
Speaker 1: where you don't want to it, or spending in one
Speaker 1: categories where you don't want it, then it's already more
Speaker 1: on the extreme side on the side you don't want it.
Speaker 1: So coming up with solutions that are extreme to the
Speaker 1: other end can land you somewhere in the middle. It's
Speaker 1: why we love no spend challenges because they allow you
Speaker 1: kind of to do that. Oh chat, what a good
Speaker 1: example that really landed and is resonating well with me. Amazing?
Speaker 1: All right, don I got my takeaway? Cool, Okay, Well,
Speaker 1: let's let's cut off episode. All right. So number four
Speaker 1: is to make a list of all your irregularly monthly expenses,
Speaker 1: so discretionary, irregularly I think it was a type out. Yeah,
Speaker 1: discretionary expenses. So if you have other regular monthly expenses
Speaker 1: then aren't fixed like groceries, eating out, video games, which
Speaker 1: is a thing people spend money on video games and
Speaker 1: watching people play video games. Yeah, and here's the thing.
Speaker 1: If you love video games like I don't, I've never
Speaker 1: played a video game in my life besides Tetris and Solitaire,
Speaker 1: and so I don't get the appeal. But there are
Speaker 1: some people who love it. And so just because some
Speaker 1: financial guru doesn't play video games and tells you to
Speaker 1: cut them out, it doesn't mean they're right. Like maybe
Speaker 1: you don't buy basic B Latte's and you play video
Speaker 1: games like you, Yeah, it is okay, I just don't.
Speaker 1: I don't understand it. Yeah, there comes a point where
Speaker 1: you have to stop listening to the gurus and start
Speaker 1: being intuitive with what works for you. Yeah, video games, electronics, close,
Speaker 1: gas for your car, all that stuff. So calculate your
Speaker 1: average spending over six months for each expense that's the recommendation,
Speaker 1: and put those average monthly expenses into a list from
Speaker 1: largest to smallest, and then again negotiate with yourself and
Speaker 1: look for senses that can be reduced or eliminated, and
Speaker 1: again aligning with your values. This list that they're having
Speaker 1: you create. I think it's an awesome practice, but it
Speaker 1: will also be quite telling of where probably your highest
Speaker 1: values and priorities are. That doesn't mean that it has
Speaker 1: to be continuously the thing that you spend the most on.
Speaker 1: We can still honor our values and priorities without spending
Speaker 1: all of our money there. But it is worth looking
Speaker 1: at all. Right, it looks like there is a ton
Speaker 1: of money being spent on take out or eating out.
Speaker 1: What does that tell me about myself? Is the scenario
Speaker 1: that I want to cut? Or do I really like
Speaker 1: doing this? Does it really serve my values? And maybe
Speaker 1: I'm going to focus a bit more on negotiating with
Speaker 1: myself in the other categories. So there is this ebb
Speaker 1: and flow process. It's not just this hard and fast
Speaker 1: we have to cut every free category. For the sake
Speaker 1: of cutting every category. It is to free up money
Speaker 1: to put towards some of the things that are most enjoyable,
Speaker 1: most valuable for you. Okay, last, but not least number five,
Speaker 1: which goes into what I'm talking about here. Choose three
Speaker 1: guilt free expenses and then look for ways to reduce
Speaker 1: the rest. So identify some of the some of the things.
Speaker 1: They're saying three, that's a great number. However, many one
Speaker 1: to three, four's fine. That you really want to be
Speaker 1: able to spend. It aligns with things that are life
Speaker 1: giving to you, that are valuable for you. You want
Speaker 1: to be able to spend on them and not have
Speaker 1: a cringe factor to it of oh I shouldn't have
Speaker 1: done that, right, guilt free, shame free. It's budgeted for,
Speaker 1: its planned for. You've cut in other ways so that
Speaker 1: you can put money here. That's the idea. So it
Speaker 1: doesn't just have to be I only spend money on food.
Speaker 1: It can be that you know the groceries. It can
Speaker 1: be that you find things that are really enjoyable for
Speaker 1: you and put that into your budget. So spend on
Speaker 1: your priorities, reduced spending on everything else. Yeah, and I
Speaker 1: like he says, I'm not recommending having an unlimited budget
Speaker 1: for each of these expenses, but don't feel guilty about
Speaker 1: spending on money on them either. That's so important to
Speaker 1: understand and really take to heart. Like there, you're going
Speaker 1: to have a different budget depending on what your income is.
Speaker 1: And I like to say, and maybe this isn't true anymore,
Speaker 1: but like I always like to say, like your income
Speaker 1: is the lowest it's ever going to be. If you're
Speaker 1: working and intentional about increasing your income, then you will
Speaker 1: make more money and you will be able to have
Speaker 1: more money for the things that you value. And so
Speaker 1: maybe your coffee budget is twenty dollars a month you
Speaker 1: wish it was thirty, then go out and there and
Speaker 1: start a side hustle, or negotiate for a raise, or
Speaker 1: find a better paying job. So these things can give
Speaker 1: you the motivation you need to take those intentional actions.
Speaker 1: But if we don't have a budget that we are
Speaker 1: intentionally creating to align with our life, we're never gonna
Speaker 1: We're not gonna have a reason to like do the
Speaker 1: actions to to make more money, like because we all
Speaker 1: say we want more money, but having more money typically
Speaker 1: isn't enough of a motivation too to do the hard
Speaker 1: work that it entails. The final thing I want to
Speaker 1: highlight with this article is the statement about any cuts
Speaker 1: that you make tear spending need to be rooted in
Speaker 1: your purpose and goals so that you have a clear
Speaker 1: motivation for making those cuts. So again, as we talk
Speaker 1: about having budgets that don't feel like deprivation, like soul
Speaker 1: crushing punishment. This is how we're going to do it.
Speaker 1: Making sure that whatever decrease in spending we do, whatever
Speaker 1: negotiation we do with ourselves or with others, is rooted
Speaker 1: in an ultimate purpose and goal of what we want
Speaker 1: to see with our money. Having that motivation for those cuts,
Speaker 1: that why behind those cuts. Having spending connected with our values,
Speaker 1: that's what's going to create so much freedom within you.
Speaker 1: Utilizing a budget and will help shift that mindset into
Speaker 1: there's actually a tool that's useful, not something that's restricting me.
Speaker 1: Good word. I wish I could copy and paste this
Speaker 1: article and put it everywhere. It's like, I love it
Speaker 1: so much. Have it be a car wrap on your vehicle. Yeah,
Speaker 1: just everybody has to walk around and read it. And
Speaker 1: after reading my car you will make a budget. Frugal
Speaker 1: Friends manifesto, Yes, you will make a budget. Al right.
Speaker 1: So let's go into our next article from Whole Family Living,
Speaker 1: and it is five ways to stick to your budget
Speaker 1: without feeling deprived. So and the first one we're talking
Speaker 1: about how to create a budget or cut things out
Speaker 1: to make a budget that supports not being deprived. And
Speaker 1: so here we're talking about how to stick to that
Speaker 1: budget without feeling deprived. What do you think of this one? Chill,
Speaker 1: it's good. I don't think that there's a ton of
Speaker 1: really new earth shattering information, but I think it is
Speaker 1: going to help us to again to just realign our
Speaker 1: mindset in a place that's useful and being able to
Speaker 1: engage in a budget. That that's so much. We talk
Speaker 1: about mindset so much. That is where it starts. Behaviors
Speaker 1: are not going to shift until mindset shifts. I do, however,
Speaker 1: like some of the reasoning that they give for why
Speaker 1: we should be considering a budget. I think a lot
Speaker 1: of times when when we're kind of lacking that understanding
Speaker 1: or willpower, it's good to see here's here's an argument
Speaker 1: for it, here's all the pros for it, and they
Speaker 1: list out it can help us focus on our families
Speaker 1: or our individual goals and priorities. A budget helps us
Speaker 1: to be able to plan for the future. We're not
Speaker 1: gonna be able to plan. We're not gonna be able
Speaker 1: to think about the future if we don't know what
Speaker 1: our finances and spending is looking like. It helps us
Speaker 1: to track our income and expenses. Knowing where everything goes
Speaker 1: budgets avoid being sideswiped by unexpected emergencies. We can be
Speaker 1: more prepared and proactive. They help us to avoid accumulating
Speaker 1: debt or adding to it. That's a thing. They help
Speaker 1: us to enjoy experiences together without paying for them after
Speaker 1: the fact. It's not like swipe the credit card and
Speaker 1: we'll see what it looks like next week when I
Speaker 1: look at the checking account. Budgets also can help us
Speaker 1: get discounts or better rates by being able to pay
Speaker 1: in full when we're on top of our finances and
Speaker 1: we can actually cash flow things that can lead to
Speaker 1: better rates. That's so true. I experienced that when Eric
Speaker 1: and I only once in our marriage so far have
Speaker 1: we purchased a couch brand new. Otherwise it's been my
Speaker 1: Facebook marketplace and stuff. But I was so surprised when
Speaker 1: we found a couch that we liked and I told
Speaker 1: the guy, was like, hey, I got cash, what can
Speaker 1: you do for me? And they actually gave us like
Speaker 1: a ten percent discount for having cash, And I was
Speaker 1: shocked that it worked. But yes, it's true, it was amazing.
Speaker 1: Works great at paunch shops, always get the cash discounted
Speaker 1: punch shop. I love how The author says that budgeting
Speaker 1: is a mindset, and you have to have the right
Speaker 1: mindset to to stick with your budget because it's not
Speaker 1: something that is inherently meant to deprive you or meant
Speaker 1: to make you miss out on things. But if you
Speaker 1: have that perspective that's not sustainable, you're not going to
Speaker 1: be able to stick to a budget. But she says, actually,
Speaker 1: your budget will be a tool that allows, or as
Speaker 1: I prefer to say, empowers you to have more and
Speaker 1: do more, which is is hard to hear, Like if
Speaker 1: you're in a situation where you're living on a really
Speaker 1: tight budget, but you can't just think of the here
Speaker 1: and now, because even if it's hard today, even if
Speaker 1: it's hard right now, you will reap the benefits ten
Speaker 1: twenty years in the future, and you will be so
Speaker 1: glad you budgeted in the hard days when the good
Speaker 1: days are easier. And so maybe these these do more
Speaker 1: and have more aren't always month to month or having
Speaker 1: more values driven purchases aren't always happening in the immediate,
Speaker 1: but they do happen eventually. Yeah, all of these things
Speaker 1: don't just come to us when we have more. We
Speaker 1: start to develop the habits and the understanding of these things. Yeah,
Speaker 1: even in the times, like you're saying, Jen, it's so good. Okay.
Speaker 1: So they list out five ways to stick to your budget,
Speaker 1: so we'll just go through them. The first one is
Speaker 1: to develop a smart budget. Many of you are familiar
Speaker 1: with the smart acronym. What I like about what they're
Speaker 1: highlighting here is that budgets should add clarity to your
Speaker 1: financial situation, not make it confusing or chaotic. So if
Speaker 1: you're confused the budgeting situation that your two thing probably
Speaker 1: isn't the best one. If you're confused and you don't
Speaker 1: have a budget, then hopefully a budget will help you
Speaker 1: with that. And so they're saying that it could be
Speaker 1: useful to look at this technique of having a budget
Speaker 1: that is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time limited, and being
Speaker 1: able to apply this way of approaching goals to a
Speaker 1: budget can be really useful and help to empower us,
Speaker 1: help us with our mindset around budgets. So making sure
Speaker 1: that each category is specific, we put a real number amount,
Speaker 1: that that our progress within our budget is measurable. Is
Speaker 1: there a way to track it, which, yes, there is
Speaker 1: income and expenses. There you go is it attainable. This
Speaker 1: is very important when it comes to budgets. Sometimes we
Speaker 1: can sit down and have all sorts of lofty goals,
Speaker 1: but then that is where it can feel restrictive. It's
Speaker 1: not sustainable or attainable long term, so being realistic will
Speaker 1: So that's three and four attainable and realistic about these
Speaker 1: numbers that you put in place. I know, for me,
Speaker 1: I consistently in my fantasy budget spend far less money
Speaker 1: on food than I actually do. But I had to
Speaker 1: come to this place of being realistic with that budget
Speaker 1: and say, okay, well what can I cut but not
Speaker 1: absolutely slice this thing. I want to make steady progress
Speaker 1: towards decreasing this because a thousand dollars is way too
Speaker 1: much to be spending on food every month. But acting
Speaker 1: like I can spend just three hundred dollars in a
Speaker 1: month is not realistic. Going from a thousand so and
Speaker 1: then time limited, which budgets naturally do that. Whether you
Speaker 1: want to budget every two weeks if that's how often
Speaker 1: you get paid, or monthly, and then revisit it. This
Speaker 1: isn't a static document that never shifts and changes that
Speaker 1: we never revisit. I would recommend especially when just beginning
Speaker 1: to be pretty short in the time that you budget.
Speaker 1: Like again, if you get paid bi weekly, make your
Speaker 1: budget bi weekly, and go from there until you really
Speaker 1: get a handle on what is my spending look like
Speaker 1: and what do I need to be accounting for. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think one of the biggest things that makes budgeting
Speaker 1: complicated or complex is budgeting based on income you have
Speaker 1: not yet received. That can be really really confusing and
Speaker 1: make you really anxious if there's a bill coming up
Speaker 1: that's really close to when you get paid, so it
Speaker 1: can cause undo stress. So I think budgeting based on
Speaker 1: what you made last paycheck or what you made last
Speaker 1: month can relieve a lot of stress and make this
Speaker 1: smart budget technique a lot easier. And so yeah, definitely
Speaker 1: when you're starting out, make those shorter budgets weeklong budgets,
Speaker 1: two weeklong budgets, etcetera. But yeah, there's like you can
Speaker 1: definitely save up the amount of money that you got
Speaker 1: paid in the last pay period or the last month,
Speaker 1: and then use that buffer and and budget off of that.
Speaker 1: Like if it's November, now use what you made in
Speaker 1: October and budget off of that for November, because you're
Speaker 1: not make any more money in October if it is November,
Speaker 1: so you know exactly what you have to work with.
Speaker 1: The money's already there. It doesn't matter when a bill
Speaker 1: is due, all of that stuff. So I think that
Speaker 1: can take a lot of confusion out of budgeting. It
Speaker 1: does take a little bit of front end work to
Speaker 1: build up money in your account to do that, but
Speaker 1: once you've got it, your golden exactly. So number two,
Speaker 1: go on a spending freeze. We just talked about going
Speaker 1: extreme to land in the middle, and that is what
Speaker 1: we're talking about here. So every little thing we spend
Speaker 1: money does add up. And while we are not promoting
Speaker 1: a lifestyle of nickeling and diming, when you do a
Speaker 1: no spend challenge or spending freeze for a period of time,
Speaker 1: you you start to realize all the little things you're
Speaker 1: spending money on. It's much more powerful than just tracking
Speaker 1: your expenses because you're putting a stop. You're putting like
Speaker 1: a a barrier between you and your spending habits. So
Speaker 1: you're disrupting that queue so that the habit loop can
Speaker 1: no longer function mindlessly. You have to be intentional about purchases,
Speaker 1: and then sometimes you may still choose to make that
Speaker 1: purchase and then you have to, you know, focus on
Speaker 1: other things. But when you do something extreme, oftentimes at
Speaker 1: the end, if you're paying attention to what you're learning
Speaker 1: and you're intentional about that, then at the end you
Speaker 1: can land yourself in the middle for the long term.
Speaker 1: And so I think that's a great strategy when you're
Speaker 1: getting started, or if when you just need to shake
Speaker 1: things up, if you're feeling stagnant, trying a no spend
Speaker 1: challenge is a great way to kind of regains momentum
Speaker 1: and excitement, and it gamifies this process too. It can
Speaker 1: be fun to call it a challenge and to see, yeah,
Speaker 1: your fortitude in this area and then learn more about yourself.
Speaker 1: So we love those, you know, we love a challenge,
Speaker 1: And you can even get our free seven day knows
Speaker 1: by and challenge Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash free.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, you know, you know our sponsor. So the
Speaker 1: third thing that they list on here of helping budgets
Speaker 1: not feel so restrictive is to find an accountability partner. Oh,
Speaker 1: things are so much more enjoyable with friends and buddies
Speaker 1: who have our best interests in mind. So when we're
Speaker 1: working on a budget or other goals. It truly does
Speaker 1: help to have a partner, someone who is on the
Speaker 1: same page as you, or who is just willing to
Speaker 1: help you stick to what you say you want to
Speaker 1: stick to and how they'll do that right. It's helpful
Speaker 1: if we can give the specifics of here's where I
Speaker 1: need support and encouragement and assistance, here's the ways you
Speaker 1: can provide that to me, and really come up with
Speaker 1: a plan together of how that person can help you.
Speaker 1: And if there's any reciprocity present thereof are they also
Speaker 1: interested then you supporting them and encouraging them in a
Speaker 1: certain direction. I know frugal friends is that for me?
Speaker 1: Jen you are that for me in so many ways.
Speaker 1: But also having even this larger community is so important
Speaker 1: on this journey. But specifically when we run against challenges
Speaker 1: that feel insurmountable to us, if we're really struggling with
Speaker 1: a budget, if they really feel super restrictive to us,
Speaker 1: invite another trusted That's an important key component when we
Speaker 1: talk about accountability and vulnerability and being known by another person,
Speaker 1: letting someone else into our struggles that they're trusted and
Speaker 1: again that there's some boundaries in the ways in which
Speaker 1: support and that accountability is going to look. But this
Speaker 1: will make the journey so much more enjoyable, so much
Speaker 1: more actually attainable and realistic when you bring some else,
Speaker 1: someone else along for the journey. I would say that
Speaker 1: this could certainly be a spouse or partner, but it
Speaker 1: can also be a friend, depending on what the changes
Speaker 1: or goal that you have it. It doesn't have to
Speaker 1: be someone that you're living with. It could certainly be
Speaker 1: someone outside of your household, A good trusted friend absolutely.
Speaker 1: I mean Club BFF is kind of our solution to
Speaker 1: that problem. If you don't have anybody near you, you
Speaker 1: can join our online community and find that doors are
Speaker 1: not open right now, but we are going to open
Speaker 1: them at the end of December, so definitely start thinking
Speaker 1: about that. If you start looking for people local, that's
Speaker 1: always the best obviously, But if you don't have that,
Speaker 1: then check out Club BFF. Win doors reopen. And the
Speaker 1: fourth one is maybe my favorite. I don't know, make
Speaker 1: it fun. I do love a no spend challenge, but
Speaker 1: I love fun more. I guess it's not for goal
Speaker 1: friends if it's not fun, right, So the author I
Speaker 1: may be an odd ball, but I actually enjoyed by
Speaker 1: get some people do. I'm not one of those people.
Speaker 1: So she uses spreadsheet. I know, Jill and I both
Speaker 1: use Google sheets. That's our budgeting method. Hashtag free, hashtag free. Um.
Speaker 1: But she says, try to do something fun while you're budgeting.
Speaker 1: Instead of sitting at the kitchen table with your pen
Speaker 1: and paper, staring at the refrigerator, go outside to a
Speaker 1: nice scenic spot, work on your budget, play music. I
Speaker 1: would say, maybe, like, have a drink, eat any nice meal, whatever,
Speaker 1: things like that, dessert. Yeah, make budgeting fun for me.
Speaker 1: That's I guess not enough. Actually do just enjoy sitting
Speaker 1: in front of my computer and vegging out with a spreadsheet.
Speaker 1: It's just the budgeting that is kind of like a
Speaker 1: I'm neutral about the feeling I have about budgeting right
Speaker 1: because it's not just about setting aside the time and
Speaker 1: drinking tea and sitting in the park making a spreadsheet.
Speaker 1: It's about the implementation. We can make a budget and
Speaker 1: not stick to it. So much of what we're talking
Speaker 1: about is what comes next or the actions that flow
Speaker 1: out of that. But the budget can inform the actions
Speaker 1: and if all around we've we've made it fun, We've
Speaker 1: made it enjoyable, attainable, approachable. We've connected it to our
Speaker 1: values and priorities, the implementation will come a lot more
Speaker 1: easily and naturally. Yeah, just make your budget fun. How
Speaker 1: about we do that? Yeah, the whole process instead of
Speaker 1: the made right. Instead of them making the budget a
Speaker 1: fun event, make the actual budget of fun budget implementation thing. Yeah, like,
Speaker 1: what what do you get to spend money on this month?
Speaker 1: And how have you made room for that? Oh? That's
Speaker 1: so fun? All right? Number five on here is use
Speaker 1: an accordion file. Okay, spoiler alert. They're just talking about
Speaker 1: cash envelope system. How cash envelope system can help us
Speaker 1: stick to our budget. I do love a good accord
Speaker 1: the in file. I love organization. Who doesn't love a
Speaker 1: good accordion file? They are fun. Whenever I see them,
Speaker 1: I always think that I need to purchase one, but
Speaker 1: I never really have like a reason to buy it.
Speaker 1: They just they're back in style. Like at Target, you
Speaker 1: can buy like fancy trendy accordion files. So y'all out
Speaker 1: there here, And oh she's weird with the accordion file thing.
Speaker 1: Targets already on it. So I was not the first
Speaker 1: one to love the accordion file. All these basic bes
Speaker 1: are out here with accordion falue, all of them are.
Speaker 1: I actually don't have an accordion file because I have
Speaker 1: a full like file cabinet. I have too many files
Speaker 1: for that. But if I was a single lady with
Speaker 1: maybe just ten forms of paperwork or something, I'd have
Speaker 1: an accordion file. Well, this is what they're saying. I
Speaker 1: don't know if I can fully get on board with
Speaker 1: this making it super fun or less restrict if it's
Speaker 1: essentially I mean, we kind of got off the rails here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it might be a method that could help you if
Speaker 1: just budgeting is not going that well for you, to
Speaker 1: help see where are you spending money, to stop spending
Speaker 1: money when the money runs out. It's a cash envelope system, right,
Speaker 1: So the ideas you've got one slot for groceries and
Speaker 1: other slot for transportation. When the money runs out of
Speaker 1: those categories, you're done. You can't go anywhere, you can't
Speaker 1: eat anymore. In essence, there's plenty out there on cash
Speaker 1: envelope systems. We're not going to get super into it.
Speaker 1: It's not for everybody. It's not for me. I can't
Speaker 1: carry around that much cash, and actually for me, I
Speaker 1: feel more freedom to spend when I do have cash
Speaker 1: because I'm like there's no trail, Like I spend this
Speaker 1: cash and it's not going to show up in my
Speaker 1: bank account. So like I'm I'm able to just like
Speaker 1: it doesn't exist. Yeah, go wild. So it doesn't. It
Speaker 1: doesn't work for me. If it works for you, that's amazing.
Speaker 1: If it gives your reason and to buy an accordion
Speaker 1: file and that's fun for you. Great, Really have a
Speaker 1: solution for not losing all of your cash. If you're
Speaker 1: a person who often loses your keys, don't do this. Okay,
Speaker 1: here's a better solution, and thank you technology for giving
Speaker 1: us solutions to all of our problems. So Cube Money,
Speaker 1: who is a partner of the show, They do a
Speaker 1: digital envelope system or a digital accordion file system, whichever
Speaker 1: you prefer, but you can have it's actually you put
Speaker 1: your money in a bank. Cube is a banking app
Speaker 1: and you can distribute it into different cubes which are
Speaker 1: different areas of your accordion file and then you can
Speaker 1: spend out of that. So it is the envelope system
Speaker 1: without having to carry around cash. So if you are
Speaker 1: paying off debt. Ten times out of ten I recommend
Speaker 1: using Cube so you can get more frugal friends, podcast,
Speaker 1: dot com, slash qu and find out more about them.
Speaker 1: But ten times out of ten, it is a long
Speaker 1: time coming that this solution has, you know, we've been
Speaker 1: waiting for. But yeah, so this is highly recommend if
Speaker 1: you need parameters like that to stick to your budget.
Speaker 1: Great solution for the accordion file that's coming back, And
Speaker 1: there's a lot of things that are coming back, like
Speaker 1: the mullet. And I'm wondering now about the Fannie pack
Speaker 1: and if maybe we should come up with like a
Speaker 1: Fannie pack budgeting system. I feel like you could put
Speaker 1: an Accordion small accordion into the Fannie pack. It's almost
Speaker 1: a perfect fit, and then your Fannie it's just too perfect.
Speaker 1: And so this might be the only reason I wouldn't
Speaker 1: recommend Cube is that if you really want to have
Speaker 1: a Fannie pack accordion file budget, which they're on the
Speaker 1: same level, the cute Cube money and the Accordian file
Speaker 1: for any pack. And then if you want to have
Speaker 1: like extra security, you just put your shirt over the
Speaker 1: Fannie pack so no one knows that you've got a
Speaker 1: Fannie pack full of money to stick to your budget.
Speaker 1: You're just out here having fun, keeping your money safe
Speaker 1: under your shirt, inside your Fannie pack, inside the Agordian file. Wow,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh. Or you can just wear it across
Speaker 1: your chest like all of the gen z TikTokers, and
Speaker 1: nobody's going to think you have money in there anyway,
Speaker 1: because they think you're a child. So there are so
Speaker 1: many ways. I mean, really, these solutions are limitless. They
Speaker 1: have limits, and that's why they're great. Maybe, And then
Speaker 1: that's why we use digital solutions when the trending styles
Speaker 1: don't really give us what we want. But if you're
Speaker 1: interested in being trendy, I mean, don't sleep on this
Speaker 1: Accordian file Fanning pack. Yeah, that's just fun and that
Speaker 1: that will help and not feel like deprivation for sure.
Speaker 1: You know what else is not limitless? What is limitless?
Speaker 1: It has a limit. And maybe that's why the bill though,
Speaker 1: we that's right, it's time for the best minute of
Speaker 1: your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his
Speaker 1: name is William. Maybe you've paid off your mortgage, Maybe
Speaker 1: your car died and you're happy to not have to
Speaker 1: pay that bill anymore. Duck bills, Buffalo bills, Bill Clinton,
Speaker 1: this is the bill of the week. So we're gonna
Speaker 1: do two bills this week, because why not, We're just
Speaker 1: gonna We're just gonna hang out with them. So here
Speaker 1: is our first bill. My bill of the league is
Speaker 1: my little credit card. I just finished pay off my
Speaker 1: balance in at all zero dollars. I feel great. That's awesome.
Speaker 1: Say no to loves credit cards. Yeah yet that paid?
Speaker 1: Well done? What a good feeling. We are celebrating with
Speaker 1: you for that bill that you no longer have anymore.
Speaker 1: All right, And here is our second bill, my free
Speaker 1: cool friends. It's Kate Tear from the UK. My bill
Speaker 1: of the week is my moving bill. So we have
Speaker 1: bought a house this year, and what with all of
Speaker 1: the cost of moving, like solicitus fees and you know,
Speaker 1: listening the house on the market and you know, the
Speaker 1: estate agent fees and everything, it all topped up to
Speaker 1: about six thousand pounds. And at the start of the
Speaker 1: year I started using wine Up and it's completely revolutionized
Speaker 1: my jetting. I sat down and actually tried to understand
Speaker 1: their full rules and really kind of invested some time
Speaker 1: into it and actually follow their four rules and the
Speaker 1: embrace your true expenses rule has completely revolutionized my budgets.
Speaker 1: So using these four rules, we have been able to
Speaker 1: cash flow our moving expenses. So that's really exciting and
Speaker 1: I'm really proud of myself. I'm really proud of my husband.
Speaker 1: Great work on the podcast. It's amazing and you're hilarious,
Speaker 1: so keep up. Oh my gosh, case that is awesome.
Speaker 1: K from the UK. Why an amazing We don't listen
Speaker 1: to these bills ahead of times, so so fitting with
Speaker 1: what we're chatting about today, and really thrilled with you
Speaker 1: that Why NAB has worked for you has really helped
Speaker 1: you not be surprised by the moving expenses which can
Speaker 1: really be shocking. I mean six thousand pounds above and
Speaker 1: beyond the purchase of the home and everything that you
Speaker 1: need to be able to move and yet to to
Speaker 1: be able to cash flow that as a result of
Speaker 1: looking at your budget and preparing for it. Well well done.
Speaker 1: Hope you're enjoying your new place and beginning to settle
Speaker 1: in a bit. And thanks for your words of encouragement.
Speaker 1: Glad you find us funny. We laugh at ourselves, so
Speaker 1: it's good to know other people are laughing too. Whether
Speaker 1: it's with us or at us. We're here for it all. Yes,
Speaker 1: thank you so much, Kate. That was so great. So
Speaker 1: if you have a great bill, like you paid off
Speaker 1: a credit card, or you cash flowed your moving costs
Speaker 1: or anything, then please visit our website www. Dot Frugal
Speaker 1: friends dot com slash bill to leave us your bill
Speaker 1: of the week. And now it's time for the lightning
Speaker 1: Lightning round. Give it to us, Jen, what are we
Speaker 1: doing for this lightning room? We're talking about cool things
Speaker 1: that we budget for. That was Jill really thought it
Speaker 1: was going to be more in depth than this. I'm
Speaker 1: always a little bit more complicated in the way that
Speaker 1: I get my thoughts out. But today we're just going
Speaker 1: to be talking about our version of non deprived budgets
Speaker 1: and what they included, I guess maybe now, and what
Speaker 1: they included while we were paying off debt. Let's talk
Speaker 1: about that, oh curveball, all right, you want me to
Speaker 1: go if you have something? Yeah, yeah, sure, okay. When
Speaker 1: I was paying off debt, real talk friends, my frugal friends,
Speaker 1: I was living on a very low income with Eric.
Speaker 1: Both of us are living on a very low income
Speaker 1: living life for sure, but did not have a lot
Speaker 1: of discretionary income. Once are very minimal expenses were paid,
Speaker 1: but yet gum was important to me. You've heard me
Speaker 1: talk about this before. There's there was always a few quarters, pennies,
Speaker 1: nickels and dimes lying around for me to get that
Speaker 1: pack of gum. That was that was always on the
Speaker 1: budget and currently still food related, still still things I'm
Speaker 1: putting in my mouth at this point that is cool
Speaker 1: and fun for me to spend money on. Which is food, well,
Speaker 1: I mean gum is obviously, and then food. So you've
Speaker 1: heard me talk about this already, even in this episode
Speaker 1: where okay, a thousand dollars a month is pretty steep
Speaker 1: to spend on. So we've gotten it down to like
Speaker 1: you all might cringe at this, but hey, there's freedom
Speaker 1: for me, and it's guilt free, shame free. We're at
Speaker 1: about eight hundred dollars a month that I budget for
Speaker 1: food now, to be fair, that is groceries, take out, restaurants, everything,
Speaker 1: food eight hundred dollars a month. Because it's it's just
Speaker 1: for Eric and I. We realized one of the most
Speaker 1: important aspects of discretionary spending. We value eating good food,
Speaker 1: we value going out with other people. We value having
Speaker 1: fun at home, nights of feasting, so that's I really
Speaker 1: will cut in so many other areas so that we
Speaker 1: can have food that we enjoy and go out guilt free.
Speaker 1: We we feel similarly. I think that's probably around our budget,
Speaker 1: we're a little lower than that. Well, we can't go
Speaker 1: out as often because we have a toddler, so our
Speaker 1: our food budgets a little less than that, but it
Speaker 1: might be higher if we were not young parents. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I love that. I'm full on board for me. So
Speaker 1: when I was paying off debt, I think you all
Speaker 1: might be surprised to know that I made it a
Speaker 1: point to include coffee in my budget. Please don't judge me.
Speaker 1: I mean, judge me if you will. It's just something
Speaker 1: that was like a huge sticking point for me. And
Speaker 1: part of it, Travis doesn't drink coffee, so this is
Speaker 1: still something that we talk about as being something He
Speaker 1: doesn't really understand why I spend money there because he
Speaker 1: didn't get it. So it's just like always top of mind.
Speaker 1: But it's small things like that, and it has dressed.
Speaker 1: There are seasons where I enjoy it and their seasons
Speaker 1: where I don't get take out coffee at all, Like
Speaker 1: it just depends. I like working out of coffee shops.
Speaker 1: I wrote my entire first book at a coffee shop.
Speaker 1: I anticipate writing the second edition next week, adding to
Speaker 1: it probably every day at a coffee shop is probably
Speaker 1: what I will do. So that was something that was
Speaker 1: important to me while we were paying off debt and
Speaker 1: something that I really prioritized. I love how you push
Speaker 1: against that because so many people are going to say,
Speaker 1: cut coffee, look at how much you spend a year
Speaker 1: in this category. But you're saying, there's room to be
Speaker 1: able to purchase the thing that you enjoy if you
Speaker 1: look at all these other line items in your budget. Well,
Speaker 1: I'm all about the cappuccino, cappuccino, cappuccino factor. I'm all
Speaker 1: about the cappuccino factor. Remind us what that is jen
Speaker 1: for those who haven't listened to previous episodes. So the
Speaker 1: cappuccino factor is just going to the coffee shop, but
Speaker 1: instead of getting the five dollar latte, you get the
Speaker 1: four dollar cappuccino, and then you could go essentially over
Speaker 1: five times. You get a free cappuccino, right, because you
Speaker 1: save a dollar every time, so you can go and
Speaker 1: get more coffee. It's essentially the same thing, just different
Speaker 1: ratios of espresso to steamed milk. So yeah, and you
Speaker 1: save the calories on the steamed milk, right, So there's
Speaker 1: so many benefits. And this works especially well in the
Speaker 1: cold season because I prefer an ice plate and that's
Speaker 1: a jip, you know, you don't get a nice cappuccino.
Speaker 1: But yeah, so try the cappuccino factor and get all
Speaker 1: the coffee you want. Boo. So that was me paying
Speaker 1: off debt, and then we like found ways to get
Speaker 1: around eating out. Is that we would do mystery shopping.
Speaker 1: I think mystery shop. Yeah, that's like so underrated, so
Speaker 1: we really wouldn't spend money there. But now I would
Speaker 1: say take out take out. We don't do sit down
Speaker 1: restaurants very often, maybe every other month, once a quarter maybe,
Speaker 1: but we do take out several times a week, and
Speaker 1: I schedule it in a budget it in and I
Speaker 1: love my takeout. It's always a pretty affordable takeout too. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you're usually getting from taco places, and takeout is more
Speaker 1: affordable than going to a restaurant because you're just paying
Speaker 1: for the food, you're not necessarily paying for weight service,
Speaker 1: but both both have its value and its place. Yeah,
Speaker 1: somebody did leave us one star review because one of
Speaker 1: my tips to save money is don't go to sit
Speaker 1: down restaurant, get take out because then you don't have
Speaker 1: to tip the server. And someone was like, and they
Speaker 1: thought that we were saying don't tip the server, and
Speaker 1: that's not what we're saying. You should definitely tip your server.
Speaker 1: The core idea is get take out, then you don't
Speaker 1: have a server. Yeah, we love the reviews that actually
Speaker 1: are inaccurate, but we can do nothing about them where
Speaker 1: they just completely misunderstood us but gave us a one
Speaker 1: star because of their miss understanding. Well, anyhow, we're gonna
Speaker 1: thank you all for your kind reviews on iTunes and Stitcher,
Speaker 1: like this one that comes from Mrs Wids. They say,
Speaker 1: rethink what frugal means in a modern world. It is
Speaker 1: five stars. Sounds like you've listened to us. Wow. I
Speaker 1: love this podcast because the difference between frugal and cheap
Speaker 1: is so well done here. It's so good to hear
Speaker 1: just normal, lovely people talking about frugal living, so I
Speaker 1: don't feel so much like a crazy coup on clipper.
Speaker 1: I also find plenty of good podcasts that are done
Speaker 1: by people with really annoying voices, but these people are
Speaker 1: nice to listen to as well as super informative. Mrs Wids,
Speaker 1: you've made mow weak. This is a very kind and
Speaker 1: informed review. It's okay if people don't like us, you know,
Speaker 1: it's just accurately review us. Well, No, send us an email,
Speaker 1: tell me face to face, don't leave it on. It's
Speaker 1: not okay if you don't like me. I'm not okay
Speaker 1: with it. Jill can speak for herself, but I can't
Speaker 1: emotionally handle it. But Mrs Weeds, this is so kind.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for for your kind words. They
Speaker 1: encourage us and hopefully they help other people in finding
Speaker 1: a podcast that works for them. Right. We know that
Speaker 1: we are not going to be the fit for every
Speaker 1: single person, but really glad that this is useful to you.
Speaker 1: There's room for more podcasts about frugality, especially from female voices.
Speaker 1: So we also want to thank our friends who share
Speaker 1: these episodes on social media. So when you share the
Speaker 1: latest episode and tag us on Instagram at Frugal Friends Podcast,
Speaker 1: we are going to enter you into our monthly drawing
Speaker 1: for every five tags and reviews we get each month.
Speaker 1: We are giving away one of our challenge workbooks this month.
Speaker 1: It is our Values Based Budget Binders, over a hundred
Speaker 1: pages of values based budgeting, spending, earning, et cetera, with
Speaker 1: some really great templates. So keep leaving us those reviews
Speaker 1: on iTunes or Stitcher, Send us a screenshot of that
Speaker 1: review that you left to Frugal Friends podcast at gmail
Speaker 1: dot com. That will enter you into that drawing as
Speaker 1: well as tagging us on social media. Both ways enter
Speaker 1: you into winning that values based budget bunder Absolutely We'll
Speaker 1: see you next week by Frugal Friends is produced by
Speaker 1: Eric Syrian